The year 2022 is off to a strong start with an event that has sparked enthusiasm among African audiences. Postponed twice due to the health crisis, the Africa Cup of Nations is finally taking place in Cameroon, where the best African teams are competing.
This is an eagerly awaited opportunity for advertisers, who are taking advantage of the public's fervor and passion to increase their visibility. It is also a real opportunity for the media broadcasting the matches to break audience records and generate new subscriptions.
As we enter the round of 16, let's take a look back at the highlights of the early stages of the competition.
TikTok official sponsor
The start of the CAN marked the official announcement of the first partnership between CAF and Chinese digital giant TikTok. This is a first in the history of this major sporting competition, which has historically been supported by groups such as Orange and Total.
For the occasion, TikTok is offering a new showcase for the AFCON to the rest of the world and once again demonstrating its ambitions for Africa.
In recent years, new platforms such as TikTok have been arriving on the continent. These new players are changing the game and shaping a new future for digital communication, particularly through the development of new video content. "TikTok occupies an important place in the African digital landscape. We can see this in the amplification and virality of certain videos. This success can also be explained by the explosion of humorous content creators. They have a space on mobile devices where they can express themselves authentically, without limits on perception, technical constraints, and even less so on time," says Amélie Ebongué, social media expert, in an interview with Adweknow.
As part of this partnership, TikTok has created a virtual stadium called #WhereAllFansPlay to provide all its users with content designed to cover the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations and engage the community of football aficionados.
The CAN supported by blockchain
Several well-known players in the cryptocurrency world have taken an interest in the major African football competition, such as Binance, which has signed an agreement with the CAN to become its official cryptocurrency and blockchain sponsor. The French fantasy football game, SORARE, is also getting involved!
Created by two Frenchmen, SORARE has been enjoying success for several months thanks to virtual cards that are actually NFTs (non-fungible tokens), digital assets on the blockchain. Since kick-off, the CAN has been covered by SORARE. Users, players, and NFT collectors can buy and resell cards featuring the best players from African teams.
Sport News Africa launches its Fantasy League
In addition to its exclusive coverage of the CAN, the media outlet Sport News Africa, or SNA, has decided to launch its Fantasy League to entertain football fans throughout the competition. Designed as a free online game, the African Fantasy League allows players to take control of a selection and recruit players to build a team with a limited budget.
Traditional media at the heart of the audience
Live broadcasts of matches, whether on television or radio, remain the best way to follow the competition. The major pan-African networks are all on board: CANAL+ is covering the CAN with comprehensive coverage and live broadcasts of all matches in their entirety, and Startimes has announced that it will broadcast 51 matches live. France 24 and RFI
have restructured their programming to cover the highlights of the competition. As for national television and radio stations, they are also broadcasting a number of CAN matches depending on the progress of the national team.
Better representation of women in the media
The 2022 AFCON is breaking new ground with four female international referees, a first in the history of this men's competition. Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga, who was the center referee for the match between Zimbabwe and Guinea, officially became the first woman to referee the competition. The 35-year-old was assisted by an all-female team consisting of Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco), and video referee Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco).